Rank Species | Subfamily Malvoideae Higher classification Malacothamnus | |
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Scientific name Malacothamnus fasciculatus Similar Malacothamnus, Mallows, Encelia californica, Malosma, Acmispon glaber | ||
Malacothamnus fasciculatus, with the common names chaparral mallow and Mendocino bushmallow, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family.
It is found in far western North America.
Contents
Distribution
The plant is native to California and northern Baja California, where it is a common member of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities in many regions, desert chaparral in the Colorado Desert, and other habitats.
Description
Malacothamnus fasciculatus is a shrub with a slender, multibranched stem growing 1–5 metres (3.3–16.4 ft) in height. It is coated thinly to densely in white or brownish hairs.
The leaves are oval or rounded in shape, 2 to 11 centimeters long, and sometimes divided into lobes.
The inflorescence is an elongated cluster of many pale pink flowers with petals under a centimeter long.
Varieties
It is a highly variable plant which is sometimes described as a spectrum of varieties, and which is sometimes hard to differentiate from other Malacothamnus species.
